Supreme Court sides with church in landmark religious liberty case

The Supreme Court issued a strong rebuke to state-sponsored religious discrimination on Monday, ruling 7-2 in favor of a Missouri church challenging its exclusion from a playground resurfacing grant program. Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Mo., sued the state after officials said it could not get subsidized tire scraps for its Learning Center daycare playground because such a grant would violate a state provision forbidding taxpayer money going to support churches. About 35 other states have similar laws. Speaking for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts called the state’s decision to exclude Trinity from the grant program “odious to our Constitution.” The ruling in favor of Trinity Lutheran could have broad implications, especially for school choice programs that want to use vouchers or education savings accounts to fund tuition at faith-based schools. Check back later today for more analysis of the Trinity Lutheran decision.

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